Aristotelian logic versus drug war fallacies

Post hoc ergo propter hoc is Latin for ‘after this, therefore because of this’. The phrase refers to a common logical fallacy. An example would be ‘the rooster crows before sunrise, therefore the rooster causes the sun to rise’. Or autism follows after a measles vaccination, or a bioweapon attack on a Texas Mennonite community, therefore measles vaccines or some vastly evil and imaginary conspiracy results in autism.

A popular prohibitionist fallacy says that smoking a joint can cause someone to commit a violent act even if the violence occurs a year or more later. Despite the long history and familiarity of the post hoc fallacy, or perhaps because of it, the fallacy can also show up when news media outlets comment on cannabis.

Recently a science publication fell into post hoc fallacy territory when it revealed data linking persistent marijuana use to a higher percentage of dementia problems in medical patients five years after they had gone to an emergency ward for experiencing a bad episode using marijuana. The magic word here is “linking” because it’s possible to link anything to anything when using fallacies. The study emphasized the scope of its survey, six-million patients, although it only netted roughly16,000 examples. It is possible these patients had onset dementia without realizing it and that their adverse marijuana experience somehow highlighted it. This likelihood was not mentioned. Instead, researchers concluded with a call for more research funding for additional studies.

A CNN staff writer wasn’t satisfied with waiting for additional studies. Buried partway into an article entitled Marijuana hospital visits linked to dementia diagnosis within 5 years, study finds, the writer admits that marijuana’s link to dementia lacks a clear-cut connection, while the glaring headline and other content insinuates otherwise and keeps the question open. As presented the headline provides prohibitionists with anti-marijuana propaganda to use against legalization, at least temporarily. Big lies and deceptions have a time limit.

When dealing with topics like dementia it’s important to know who has it and who doesn’t. Just because some journalists appear to be demented nearly every time they report on marijuana doesn’t mean they are actually suffering from dementia. Other possibilities exist. A person might be suffering from mental deficiencies in Aristotle’s Rhetoric or even Wittgenstein’s Tractatus. When lacking any training in formal logic or science the media will naturally gravitate toward explanations espoused by charlatans and crystal ball gazers.

Remedies exist. Corporate news outlets and the public would benefit greatly from hiring more science-oriented reporters and personnel. The pay scale for science journalists may require a new standard. Journalism typically doesn’t attract science professionals when they can earn three times as much or more doing tech instead. To further assure truth and objectivity in cannabis reporting the news networks should be wary of allowing anyone to report on marijuana who hasn’t first tried it. Prohibitionists will need to be prohibited.

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6 Responses to Aristotelian logic versus drug war fallacies

  1. Servetus says:

    Researchers in Italy find that CBD applied as a topical is an excellent skin inflammation remedy for stopping the itch from allergic rashes, pruritis and dermatitis:

    28-APR-2025 — Cannabis sativa L. (C. sativa) has a long history of medicinal use. Its inflorescences contain bioactive compounds like non-psychotropic cannabidiol (CBD), which is well known for its anti-inflammatory potential in skin conditions such as psoriasis, and psychotropic Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Keratinocytes, the main cells in the epidermis, are crucial for regulating skin inflammation by producing mediators like IL-8 when stimulated by agents like TNFα. Methods: This study explores the anti-inflammatory effects of a standardized C. sativa extract (CSE) with 5% CBD and less than 0.2% THC in human keratinocytes challenged by TNFα. The aim of this study is to analyze the specific contributions of the main constituents of CSE to inflammatory responses in human keratinocytes by fractionating the extract and examining the effects of its individual components. Results: MTT assays showed that CSE was non-toxic to HaCaT cells up to 50 μg/mL. CSE inhibited NF-κB activity and reduced IL-8 secretion in a concentration-dependent manner, with mean IC50 values of 28.94 ± 10.40 μg/mL and 20.06 ± 2.78 μg/mL (mean ± SEM), respectively. Fractionation of CSE into four subfractions revealed that the more lipophilic fractions (A and B) were the most effective in inhibiting NF-κB, indicating that cannabinoids and cannflavins are key contributors. Pure CBD is one of the most active cannabinoids in reducing NF-κB-driven transcription (together with THC and cannabigerol), and due to its abundance in CSE, it is primarily responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity. Conclusions: This study highlights CBD’s significant role in reducing inflammation in human keratinocytes and underscores the need to consider the synergistic interactions of several molecules within C. sativa extracts for maximum efficacy. Standardized extracts are essential for reproducible results due to the variability in responses. […]

    MDPI: Beyond Cannabidiol: The Contribution of Cannabis sativa Phytocomplex to Skin Anti-Inflammatory Activity in Human Skin Keratinocytes

    Authors: Marco Fumagalli, Giulia Martinelli, Giuseppe Paladino, Nora Rossini, Umberto Ciriello, Vincenzo Nicolaci, Nicole Maranta, Carola Pozzoli, Safwa Moheb El Haddad, Elisa Sonzogni, Mario Dell’Agli, Stefano Piazza and Enrico Sangiovanni.

  2. cbd gummies says:

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  3. Servetus says:

    The occurrence and progression of dementia begins with protein deamidation that causes protein overproduction and malfunction:

    19-May-2025 — Davis Joseph …develop[ed] a unified theory, which establishes that the occurrence and progression of these neurodegenerative diseases can be controlled mainly by regulating the rates of axon-based 4E-BP2 protein deamidation, a chemical reaction that disrupts protein function, whose fundamental mechanism in the brain was recently discovered by Davis Joseph. Since the common characteristic of these diseases in aging patients is an excessive 4E-BP2 protein deamidation that causes protein overproduction and malfunction, lowering the common master switch to bring the deamidation rates to normal values, depending on the patients’ characteristics, can cure these brain-related diseases.

    This breakthrough is significant because Parkinson’s disease, first described in 1817, Alzheimer’s disease, first described in 1906, and other neurodegenerative diseases have been studied separately in biochemistry and therapeutic drug development, and no causal link has ever been established between them. Davis Joseph discovered this link and made the dividing wall between these brain-related diseases disappear, making it possible to treat them by regulating a shared master switch.

    Additionally, this breakthrough is crucial since it bridges for the first time four different research fields: the biochemical processes of deamidation, translational control, oxidative stress, and neurodegeneration through axon-based 4E-BP2 protein deamidation that serves as a common denominator for all of them.

    Furthermore, this discovery is an example of sustainable medicine as per FLOGEN Sustainability Framework because it fulfills the three criteria of sustainability: (1) Social Development since it improves the quality of human life (2) Economic Development, since it decreases the cost of medicine applicable to numerous diseases and (3) Environment Protection since it decreases the amount of resources that is needed to produce medicine.

    Based on this newly developed Unified Theory and his critical review of the scientific literature, he also designed for the first time three biochemical flowsheets of (1) deamidation in living organisms, (2) protein synthesis initiation and translational control, and (3) 4E-BP2 deamidation as a control system of the four biochemical processes. […]

    AAAS Public Science News Release: A groundbreaking discovery of a common master switch to cure Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other brain-related diseases. Davis Joseph’s breakthrough could save millions of lives

    International Journal of Molecular Sciences: The Unified Theory of Neurodegeneration Pathogenesis Based on Axon Deamidation

  4. Servetus says:

    Attorney General Pam Bondi attempts to justify the DEA’s existence by releasing on You Tube the results of a historic drug bust involving fentanyl, the first major arrest and seizure for the current administration, she says. The AG also manages to briefly mention seizures of marijuana laced with fentanyl.

    • The DEA, ATF (formerly known as the Bureau of Prohibition), the LA Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, every sheriff’s office, every DA’s office, and the AG’s office should be shut down.

  5. Servetus says:

    Vanderbilt University researchers produce a ketamine study that promises weeks long relief for depression against major depression:

    22-May-2025 — Roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population is afflicted with major depressive disorder at any given time, and up to 20 percent will exhibit MDD symptoms over their lifetimes.

    Yet despite its prevalence, methods to treat MDD often fall short for a not-insignificant portion of the population. Antidepressants—the standard of treatment—don’t work for 30 percent with MDD.

    When infused at a low dose ketamine shows remarkable efficacy as a rapidly acting antidepressant, with effects observed within hours even in patients who have been resistant to other antidepressant treatments. However, consistent infusions of ketamine are needed to maintain symptoms at bay, which could result in side effects, such as dissociative behaviors and the possibility of addiction, and stopping treatment can result in relapse. […]

    In the recent paper, Ma discovered that ketamine’s antidepressant effects could be sustained for up to two months by using a drug called BCI, which inhibits a protein phosphatase and results in increased ERK activity. By inhibiting the phosphatase, the authors retained ERK’s activity and augmented the synaptic plasticity that drives ketamine’s prolonged antidepressant effects.

    Although the use of BCI make the application of these results to the clinic difficult, Monteggia said that the results provide a proof of principle that ketamine’s antidepressant action can be sustained by targeting intracellular signaling. She and Kavalali, the William Stokes Professor of Experimental Therapeutics and the chair of the Department of Pharmacology, have worked on the project since its inception and hope that it fosters other studies looking to identify specific molecules that will enhance and sustain the action of a single dose of ketamine.

    Ultimately, this work will be a steppingstone toward improving MDD patients’ lives by reducing the burden of treatment. […]

    AAAS Public Science News Release: New ketamine study promises extended relief for depression. Breakthrough study suggests promising method to extend the antidepressant action of ketamine against major depression for weeks

    Science: Enhanced ERK activity extends ketamine’s antidepressant effects by augmenting synaptic plasticity

    Authors: Z. Zack Ma, Natalie J. Guzikowski, Ji-Woon Kim, Ege T. Kavalali and Lisa M. Monteggia.

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